People

The Rev. Jose A. Malayang, a veteran UCC leader and passionate encourager of local churches, has announced his retirement, effective late November.

Since 1999, Malayang has served as a member of the UCC's five-person Collegium of Officers and as executive minister of the UCC's Local Church Ministries, which he led into creation as part of the national restructure inaugurated in July 2000.

"It is not an easy decision for me to make because serving the UCC, and Local Church Ministries in particular, gives me a genuine sense of fulfillment and, yes, joy," he wrote in a Feb. 22 announcement.

This year marks Malayang's 45th ordination anniversary and his 47th consecutive year of ministerial service. Ordained in the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Malayang spent nearly three decades as a local church pastor, serving both small and large congregations in the Philippines and in Michigan.

He later served as staff of the Southern California - Nevada Conference and with the former Office for Church Life and Leadership. He also was general secretary for the division of evangelism and local church development, an agency of the former United Church Board for Homeland Ministries.

Malayang earned a B.Th. degree from Silliman University in the Philippines, a B.A. from the University of the Philippines and a M.Ed. from Wayne State University in Detroit.

"Joe's long career demonstrates a deep faith in God and a joyful love for Christ's mission and Christ's church," said General Minister and President John H. Thomas. "In every setting where Joe has served, he has witnessed to a great passion for the ministry of the local church and I am grateful for the many ways he has strengthened our congregations and encouraged our pastors and lay leaders."

In consultation with Thomas, LCM's board of directors is responsible for selecting Malayang's successor, through a search and call process. That decision also must be affirmed by the 90-member Executive Council, which acts as the General Synod ad interim. Although unlikely, if a candidate for the office was named before General Synod in June, then the delegates at Synod, not the Executive Council, would formally elect LCM's new leader.

Remembered

The Rev. Paul Minear, a renowned biblical scholar, died Feb. 22 at age 101. Author of more than 25 books and a key translator of the Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, he was a professor at Yale Divinity School and UCC-related Andover Newton Theological School. Minear's ashes will be interred in the memorial garden at First Congregational UCC in Guilford, Conn., where he was an active member. Survivors include his wife of nearly 80 years, Gladys, and three children.

Memorialized

The Rev. B. Davie Napier, a UCC minister, civil rights activist and former president of UCC-related Pacific School of Religion, died on Feb. 24 at age 91. A former professor at Yale Divinity School, he later was dean of the chapel and professor of religion at Stanford University, where he was active in the anti-war movement and joined others in blocking an entrance to a military recruitment office. Since retirement from PSR, he was a resident of UCC-related Pilgrim Place in Claremont, Calif., where he remained active in justice advocacy. Son of missionary parents, Napier became a "revered professor," according to current YDS Dean Harold Attridge.

Commissioned

A class of seven diakonal ministers - the most recent graduates of the Faith-Based Leadership Institute of the UCC's Council for Health and Human Service Ministries - were recognized on March 3 at St. Andrews UCC in Louisville, Ky., during CHHSM's 69th annual meeting. Those commissioned after completing the year-long service-based continuing education program were Mike Readinger, CHHSM's vice president for business services; Brian Magnone, UCC-related Retirement Housing Foundation; Mona Price-Huffman, UCC-related United Church Homes and Services, Newton, N.C.; John Garrett, UCC-related Peppermint Ridge, Corona, Calif.; Judy Alexander, UCC-related Emmaus Homes, Inc., St. Charles, Mo.; John Zinn, UCC-related Hoffman Homes for Youth, Gettysburg, Pa.; and Gayle Klopp, UCC-related Charles Hall Youth Services, Bismarck, N.D.

Honored

The UCC's Council for Health and Human Service Ministries recognized several persons and programs during its annual meeting, March 1-4, in Louisville, Ky. Honorees included the Rev. David Taylor, board member, UCC-related Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Miss. (Faithful Trustee Award); Ada "Sissy" Minor, an employee at UCC-related Good Samaritan Home in Evansville, Ind. (St. Stephen Award); Elinore Gold, a volunteer at UCC-related Phoebe Richland Health Care Center in Pennsylvania (Towel and Basin Award); and the Bridgeways Renewal Project at UCC-related Phoebe Home Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Allentown, Pa. (Exemplary Program Award).

The Julius Varwig Award, presented in partnership with the UCC Professional Chaplains and Counselors, honors the work of exemplary UCC chaplains. The 2007 recipient is the Rev. DeLois Brown-Daniels of UCC-related Advocate Health Care in Chicago.

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